Capseal applying tool



Dec. 9, 1958 J. WKSHERA 2 CAPSEAL APPLYING TOOL Filed Dec. 4, 1953 {Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JO/YI? Shara ywzyzi/ ATTORNEY.

Filed Dec. 4, 1953 J. w. SHERA CAPSEAL APPLYING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

John W S/rera ATTORNEK Dec. 9, 1958 JTWFSHERA 2,363,272

CAPSEAL APPLYING TOOL Filed Dec. 4, 1953 44 46 INVENTOR.

Jo/zn 14 S/zera A TTORNEX 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 v Dec. 9, 1958 J. w. SHERA CAPSEAL APPLYING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 4, 1953 INVENTOR- JO/Yf? W Sher-a W2 I Arm/elven CAPSEAL APPLYlNG 'rooL John W. Shem, Westfield, N. 3., assignor to American Flange & Manufacturing Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 4, 1953, Serial No. 396,118

7 Claims. (Cl. 53--348) This invention relates to tools for applying capseals to container closures and, in particular, to such tools which are hand operated and power actuated.

Though manual tools, for the application of capseals to the closures of steel barrels and drums, have gone into widespread use throughout the world and generally do an effective job, it has been found, of late, that power operated tools, besides saving considerable effort on the part of the operator, do the job faster and, to some extent, better. Furthermore the speed of lines on which drums are filled has now reached a point where the application of capseals, by a purely manual operation, even though an effective hand tool is used, is out of step timewise.

Certain power actuated tools for the application of capseals have been devised and are in use. They have, however, been designed to meet the needs of some of the largest and fastest filling lines of the countries oil refineries. Such tools, being made for continuous high speed use, and to last for a substantial period of time with a minimum of servicing and repair are themselves quite expensive and require expensive accessories to enable them to be used etfectively. All in all the cost of such tools is out of proportion to the advantages which they would bring to the great number of smaller filler lines in the chemical and petroleum field throughout the country. Thus there is a need for a more economical though highly etfective hand operated power actuated sealing tool which will do the job desired by the operators of the smaller filling lines.

The tool of this invention meets such need and does so in a highly effective manner. The tool itself is economical, is of simple construction and is foolproof in operation. It comprises a combination involving the tying together of certain standard elements already available in a novel and effective manner. The resultant tool is of light weight, so much so that the counter-balancing of it can be effected by a simple rope, pulley and weight arrangement, using materials available in any machine shop or factory. The tool will operate for a considerable period of time without any servicing or maintenance and, in fact, will stand up well even under the rigid requirements of the larger and faster filling lines.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide improved hand operated power actuated sealing tools for the application of capseals to the closures of steel barrels and drums.

Another object is to provide such sealing tools which are of light weight.

Another object is to provide such sealing tools which are of simple and economical construction.

Still another object is to provide such sealing tools which are rugged and dependable in spite of their light weight.

A further objectis to provide means for forming such sealing tools as combinations embodying readily available elements.

Still further and more detailed objects will in part States Patent C be obvious and in part be pointed out as the description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, proceeds.

In that drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevation of ance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof taken on lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the tool of Fig. 1, showing the air chamber and linkage housing.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevation similar to Fig. 1, showing the tool in expanded or open position, with parts of the air chamber housing broken away to expose the interior thereof and with the facing half of the housing covering the guide and linkage means removed to expose such means.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the tool in contracted or closed position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of the linkage and guiding mechanism of the invention in the expanded or open position, as illustrated in Fig. 4 and as viewed from the right in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing such parts in contracted or closed position.

Fig. 8 is a perspective vieW of the guiding and translating means for rendering the action of the pressure means elfective on the sealing head.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the clevis part thereof per se.

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section taken on line 1010 of Fig. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the push bar per se.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the guide pins per se.

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 6 of a somewhat modified form of linkage and guide arrangement.

Fig. 14 is a view of the modification shown in Fig. 13 taken on right angles with respect to the Fig. 13 showing; and

Fig. 15 is a section taken on line 15-15 of Fig. 14 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

The tool of the instant invention consists principally of an air chamber generally indicated at 1, a power transmission, guiding and linkagemechanism generally indicated at 2 and the sealing head generally indicated at 3. These assembled elements are supported from above by the pipe 4 forming part of the air line and threaded into the three way air valve generally indicated at 6 at the valve outlet end 5. Above the air valve an air hose 7, having an appropriate fitting is attached to the pipe reducing bushing 8 which is in turn screwed into the valve inlet 9. A strap 10, for use in suspending the tool from a suitable counterweight, has a portion 111 surrounding and under the head of the reducing bushing 8.

The valve 6 is of conventional three way form for controlling the fiow of air from the hose 7 into the pipe 4. Its plunger 12 is normally positioned to shut off that flow but when pressed inwardly by the handle 13 it opens a passage so that air from the hose 7 may flow into the chamber 1. When in relaxed or outward position, as that shown in Fig. 1, the valve allows air to flow back from the chamber 1 through the pipe 4, where it exhausts to atmosphere as is well known in the valve art. The exhaust to atmosphere is, of course, closed when the valve is connected to permit the flow of air from the hose 7 to the pipe 4.

The chamber 1, like the valve 6, is not in and of itself novel, but is here employed as an element of a novel combination. In fact the precise chamber, as here shown, is available on the market under the name of Rotochamber. It consists generally of a dome-like housing 15 whose upper portion has a somewhat reduced diam a sealing tool in accordeter as shown at 16, for housing the diaphragm when such is in retracted position.

The diaphragm (Figs; 4 and 5), consists of a nest of disk-like metal memberssupported from the side wall of the housing by a reversible sleeve of rubberized fabric, which moveably supports the metal parts; The nested metal members consist of a reversely extending cup 17 recessed at the position where thedisk-like top joins the laterally extending skirt and a mated disk-like platelti having a lip 19 around its periphery overlying said recess. This recess'receives one beaded end 20 of the rubberized fabric sleeve 21. The other end, 22, of the sleeve 21 is held against the side wall of the housing 1, where the same turns inward between the portions and.16, by anout-turned lip on-a cup-shaped member 23. The member 23 restswithin the portion 16 of the housing and is secured to the housing llaround its top, bymeans of a .plu-

rali'ty of bolts 24. The member23 also provides acenterl portion which. carries the threaded nipple 25 which aligns with the pipe 41 r Reverting to theconstruction of the diaphragm, it is to be noted that a disk-like plate 26 seats within the cup 17 and is held in place therein'by the same bolts which clamp the members Hand 18 together to 'holdthe rim 20 in place. An actuating stem 27 is welded orotherwise suitably secured'tothe plate 26 and extendsdownwardly therefrom, passing out through the'opening .28 inthe cupshaped closing-member 29 which closes the bottom part 15 of the housing 1. The closing member 29 is readily removable, being held in place'by the bolts 30.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when air under pressure is admitted-into the top portion 16 of-the housing 1 above the diaphragm,'the diaphragm would be pushed down and the rubberized sleeve 21 will unfold downward for that purpose from its Fig; 4 position to that of Fig. 5; This p'ermitsa substantial stroke of the stem 27 and with 'a'mple'power so lo'ngasthe air pressure is adequate. Nevertheless the'construction 'is light weight andeconomical, without involving the precision of fitted pistons riding within the cylinder.

A compression spring 31 is provided to retract the diaphragm into the Fig. 4 position from that of Fig. 5 after the air supply has been cutoff. This spring, as shown, acts between the member 29 and the undersurface of the plate 26.

The sealing tool head, to be actuated by the diaphragm device just described, is of a construction such as shown in United States Letters Patent No. 2,034,776 to John W. Shera, dated March 24, 1936, or United States Patent No. 2,209,851, to John W. Shera, dated July 30, 1940. The-details of the internal working of such tool heads forms no part of the instant invention. 1 All that is necessary here then is an understanding of the general manner of operation of such tools, reference being made to such Letters Patents for detail.

Generally speaking these sealing tool heads comprise a central spindle 35 which carries a frame on which a plurality of jaws 36 are rockably mounted. The jaws are so designed that when in sealing position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, their acting faces are brought together to form a complete circle. The mounting of the jaws involves a spring action so that that circle is opened up and they are separated, as shown in Fig. 4, when in retracted position. The'contracting of the jaws into a closed circle is effected by means of a contracting bell 37, formed with a surface around. its mouth to engage the outer surface 38 of the jaws and force them inward into sealed position.

The bell 37 and the spindle 35 are mounted together for relative longitudinal movement. This movement is normally effected by hand operation through a handle and linkage relationship, having a substantial power advantage; In this instance, however, the light weight pneumatic means, heretofore described, provides the power for eifecting the sealing and the invention is concerned with the combining of such power means with the sealing" head. These members are brought into operative relationship by the mechanism about to be described.

In the first place it is to be noted that the stem 27, rather than being constricted to an exact axial path of movement, is given a certain amount of lateral freedom due to the flexible mounting of the plate 26 on the rubberized fabric sleeve 21. This flexible mounting materially reduces the weight of the actuating device over that of an air cylinder with fitted piston but for effective operation of the sealing head the motion of the stem 27 must be restricted in direction as well as translated with the proper mechanical advantage. These ends are achieved by the guiding and linkage arrangement of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 8, it is seen that the stem 27 is threaded at 40 into a central opening in an elongated push hardl. Thebar 41 hasa rectangular body portion with reduced mounting portions and 3-3 extending outwardlytherefrom. The portions 42 and 4-3 are bored at 44 and 45, to receive link pins hereinafter described. The body of the push bar 43., adjacent its ends, is bored at 46. and 4"! (Fig. 11) to receive guide pins 43 and 4% which project outwardly beyond the side faces of the push bar., The. projecting portions of the pin may be fitted with rollers if desired.

The pins 48 and 43 are identical and have a reduced medial portion 51 (Fig. 12) to receive the of a set screw seated in the hole 52 in the Push bar.

The push bar rides up and down in a clevis member generally indicated at 53 in Fig. 9. This member has a base v54 which is axially perforated 2' 55, has a pair of parallel side rails 56 and 57 which terminate in outwardly extendingv ears 53 and 59', having perforations 6t) and 61 therethrough. The width ofthe rails 56 and 57 is such that the pins 49 and 43 slideably engage their edge faces 62. and 63. The pins can be mounted to rotate, if desired, care being taken, however, that play is'kept down to a minimum since accurate uniform movement is desired. 1

I Also the width of the push bar body 41 is such that it lies between the opposed inner surfaces of the rails 56 and 57 and is free to slide up and down therewithin but with a minimum of play. a

An H-shaped member, generally indicated at 65 (Fig. 10), fits within and is suitably secured within the clevis betweenthe side rails 56 and 57. Thisrnember has a body portion 66 with a threaded openingel extending therethrough in alignment with the opening and for threaded engagement with the threaded upper end of the sealing headzspi-ndle 35. -Pairs of.:ears 68-69, 70-71,

' extend; outwardly from; the body 66 of the H member and beyond the sides of the-clevis., These ears are bored at 72 and 73 with aligned-bores extending through both earsof each pair for the reception of link pins about to be described. s 1 H Turningnow to Figs. 4, '5, 6 and 7, it will be seen that identical linkage arrangements are provided on either end of the push barso only one set of the same need to be described in detail. First a pair of push links 74, 75 (Fig. 6), is pivoted at 76 to the push bar 41 by means of the link pin 16.- These lie on either side of the extension 43 and are guided by the sides of the same. The lower ends of the links 74 and 75 are pivoted by means of another link pin 77 to one end of a lever plate 78 on either side thereof The plate 73 enlarges outwards towards its opposite end, one portion of which end is,v pivoted by means: of the pinj79 between the cars 70 and 71 of the H member. The other corner of this larger endofthe plate 78;has a pair of links 80 and 81 pivoted thereto by means of a link pin 32. The links 80 and 31 lie against the sides of the plate 78 and extend XiQW Lto. encompass the sides of an upwardly extending mounting ear 88 secured to the upper end of the bell shaped housing 3'7. The links 80 and 81 are secured to the ear 87 by means of a link pin 83.

The clevis 53 is secured to the closing member 29 of the air chamber by means of a pair of bolts 84 and 85 which extend through the perforations 60 and 61 and screw into bosses 86 and 87 provided therefor on the upper surface of the member 29.

Assuming it is desired to operate the tool from the retracted position of Fig. 4 to the contracted position of Fig. 5, air will be admitted into the upper end of the chamber 16 above the member 18. The stem 27 will thus be forced down and since it is secured in place in the push bar 41 it will slide the push bar down in its clevis mounting. The mounting of the push bar in the clevis will restrict the movement of the stem 27 to a straight line axis in alignment with the axis of the spindle 35. The links 74 and 75 will accordingly be forced downwardly and somewhat outwardly causing a downward swinging movement of the plates 78 about their pivot points 79. This will carry the links 80 and 81 downwardly and, finally, inwardly by means of their pivoted ends 32 and 83, so that substantially a toggle action is imparted to them and they terminate in sub stantially a vertical position as seen in Fig. 5. The last inward swing of the links 80 and 81 gives a strong finish to the action and greatly multiplies the force exerted by the diaphragm so that an excellent and uniformly tight finish is put on to the sealing action. The linkage arrangement and precise relationship of parts carried by the clevis gives assurance that the action will be uniform each time the tool is actuated. This not only assures uniformity of sealing but, also, protects the parts transmitting the force of the diaphragm to the sealing head from uneven or undue wear.

A slightly modified push bar mounting is illustrated in Figs. l3, l4 and 15. Here the clevis 53 is just the same as that previously described. The push bar 90, however, instead of being provided with guide pins for engaging the edge surfaces 62 and 63 of the clevis, has its body cut away leaving elongated arms S ll and 92 which terminate in shoulders 93 and 94, etc., in alignment with the opposite edge faces of the clevis rails. U shaped guide members 95 are secured to the rails of the clevis and have legs 96 and ?7 whose inner surfaces are in slideable engagement with the surfaces 93 and 94. These legs guide the push bar in its sliding movement as do the pins 47 and 48 in the previous form. The linkage arrangement and all other elements of the connecting mechanism remain the same, so the same reference characters are applied thereto. It is, of course, understood that the guide members 95 and 98, on the opposite sides of the clevis are identical, as is the provision for their slideable contact with the push bar.

Other mechanisms for completing the combination of the invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and it is, of course, intended that the foregoing illustrated embodiments of the invention are to be considered in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Furthermore it is to be understood that since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In sealing tool construction in combination, a sealing head to be actuated, a diaphragm type fluid responsive actuating member including a hollow housing, a diaphragm within said housing and in spaced relation with respect to the wall thereof, a flexible sleeve extending between said diaphragm and said wall for the flexible mounting of said diaphragm with respect thereto and an actuating stem carried by said diaphragm and extending outwardly from said housing free to move laterally with respect to a fixed line of movement, and mechanism for applying the action of said stem to actuate said sealing head, said mechanism including guiding means having a portion engaged with said stem for limiting the reciproeating action thereof to straight line movement and linkage means connected with said stem and with said sealing head to actuate said head in response to the action of said stem.

2. In sealing tool construction of the character described, in combination, a sealing tool head including a mounting spindle and an actuating bell housing reciprocal with respect to said mounting spindle, a fluid responsive diaphragm type of pressure device for operating said sealing head, said pressure device including a hollow housing, a diaphragm within said housing and in spaced relation with respect to the wall thereof, a flexible sleeve extending between said diaphragm and the wall of said housing for flexibly mounting said diaphragm within said housing and a reciprocable actuating stem, carried by said diaphragm, for limited lateral movement with respect to the axis of said mounting spindle of said sealing head, said stem extending outwardly from said housing and mechanism for applying the action of said actuating stem to said sealing head to operate the same, said mechanism including means for locating said mounting spindle of said sealing head in fixed relation with respect to the housing of said pressure responsive device, means for guiding said actuating stern for movement along a straight line path and linkage means inter-connecting said actuating stem with said actuating bell of said sealing head to reciprocate said actuating bell with respect to said mounting spindle.

3. In sealing tool construction in combination, a sealing head formed with an upstanding mounting spindle and with an actuating bell axially moveable with respect thereto, a fluid pressure responsive actuating device including a shell, an actuating diaphragm within said shell the flexible sleeve secured to and extending between said diaphragm and the inner wall of said shell for mounting said diaphragm for movement within said shell longitudinally thereof and an actuating stem carried by said diaphragm and projecting outwardly from said shell, said stern being reciprocal in response to the fluid pressure action within said shell, a mounting member engaging said mounting spindle and said shell for mounting the same in fixed relation with respect to each other and linkage means for translating the action of said actuating stem to said actuating bell of said sealing head, said linkage means being connected at one end to said actuating stem and at the other end to said actuating hell.

4. In sealing tool construction in combination, an air cylinder including an outer shell, a diaphragm therewithin and a flexible sleeve extending between said diaphragm and the inner wall of said shell, mounting said diaphragm for longitudinal movement within said shell, and having an actuating stem engaged with said diaphragm and extending outwardly of said shell, a sealing tool head having a mounting spindle stem, actuating jaws mounted on said mounting spindle stem and an actuating bell overlying said jaws to actuate the same, said actuating bell being reciprocably mounted on said mounting spindle,

. and mechanism for translating the movement of said actuating stem to said actuating bell, said mechanism including a clevis member engaged with said mounting spindle and with said shell, a push bar engaged with said actuating stern and seated in said clevis member, interengaging guiding means on said clevis member and on said push bar for guiding said push bar for movement along the axis of said mounting spindle, and a train of link members pivotally engaged at one end with said push bar and at the other end with said actuating hell.

5. In sealing tool construction in combination, an air cylinder including an outer shell, a diaphragm within said shell and including a flexible sleeve, the outer rim of saidzfiexible sleeve being secured to they inner. surface of said shell an actuating stem engaged with said ,dia: phragm and extending outwardly of said shell, a sealing tool head having a, mounting spindle, actuating jaws mounted on said mounting spindle and an actuating bell overlying said jaws to actuate the same,i,said,,actuatin g bell being reciprocably. mounted on said mounting spindle, and mechanism for translating the movement of said actuating stem to saidactuating bell, said mechanism 1ncluding a clevis member engagedwith said mounting spindle and with said shell, a push bar engaged with said actuating stem andseated in said clevismernber, interengagingguiding means on said clevis, member andon said push bar for guiding said push barfor, movement along the axis of said, mounting spindle, and a train of link-mmebers pivotally engaged at oneiend with said pushbar and at the other end-with the-other end oisaid actuating bell, said train including afixed pivot carried by said clevis, a first link member .pivotally mountedon said fixed pivot, a second link member pivotally connecting said first link member with said push bar and a third link member pivotally connecting said first link member with said actuating housing. 7 a

6. 1n mechanism of the character described for translating the action of a flexibly mounted reciprocable stem to a sealing head havingmembers reciprocable abouta fixed axis which comprises a guide Way, a guiding member engaged withsaid reciprocable stem and mounted in said guide way for straight line sliding movement there in, and linkage mechanism pivotally engaged with said guiding member for imparting the movement of the same to said sealing head, said linkage mechanism including I do 8 pivotal mounting means in fixed pivotal position with respect to said guide Way and said linkage mechanism having an element pivotally engaged with one of said members of said sealing head to actuate the same.

7. .In mechanism of the character described for translating the action of a flexibly mounted reciprocable stem to a. sealing head having members reciprocable about a fixed axis, whichcomprises, an actuating bar engaged with said stern and extending laterally therefrom, a mounting member formed with guide Ways thereon, said actuating bar being mounted in said mounting member for slidable movement with respect thereto, means formed on said actuating bar and engaging said guide ways for limiting said slidablemovement to straight line reciprocation,.linkage mechanism pivotally engaged with said lateral extensions of said actuating bar, said linkage mechanism including .pivotal mounting means in fixed pivotal position with respect to said mounting member, and said linkage mechanism having an element pivotally engaged with one of said members of said sealing head to actuate the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNIT ED STATES PATENTS 

